Across the Worlds
by faerygirl14
Summary: This story follows Yuzu, an orphaned girl who leads a strangely similar life to Mikan and sees Mikan in her dreams, but seems to live in a different world. How are they connected? T for deaths and Natsume-ish stuff... *cough cough* .
1. The First Step

**Ahem. I disclaim all ownership of Natsume, Mikan, etc. etc. etc. I only own the characters I made up, so there.**

_Where is "here"? What is "reality"?_

I woke up. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I tried to arrange my hair into pigtails. It didn't work, it didn't work at all. It had worked five years ago, but I had long outgrown such frivolity. A thirteen-year-old just couldn't wear pigtails…

I sighed. Just a month ago, I had started having such wonderful dreams. There was a girl who looked just like me, only with wearing pigtails, and she talked to me. I sighed again, wistfully. It had been just so wonderful to be able to _talk_ to someone! From then, she had come almost every night, as if to help me keep away the loneliness.

"Yuzu! Come down here!"

"_Hai_, Oka-san."

I walked down the stairs. She wasn't my real mother, because my parents were faraway royalty in some distant land and I was sent here to avoid kidnapping. Or at least, that was what my foster grandfather told me. Of course, I knew the truth – my mother abandoned me, and my grandfather took me in.

"Yuzu! If you don't hurry up…"

My foster-mother was the meanest lady in the village, so everyone kept away from me. Not that they had much chance to – Akuba-san – my foster mother – kept me so busy anyways that I barely had a chance to meet anyone in the first place.

Tripping on the last step, I managed to safely reach the kitchen. "Here I am, Oka-san." The only reason I called her Oka-san was because she insisted that I do. I never really wanted to – it felt like I was throwing my real mother away. I knew that my _real _mother loved me, because she had left my name in the heavy, warm bundle she had left me in, and she had included a small, but beautiful necklace made of a gold chain and a bright red crystal stone, shaped like a ball.

I touched the necklace. I was still wearing it, because it was the only thing I had, besides my name, from my real parents. I kept it tucked in my tunic, though, because I didn't want anyone to find out that I had anything so valuable.

"Yuzu," Akuba-san said briskly, "I got you a job."

"A… job?" I asked disbelievingly.

"I… got a job for you. At the palace." She looked worried. "_She_ wouldn't want you to stay cooped up, but… Just be careful!"

I was still in shock. She hadn't done one good thing for me in all my fifteen years, and yet here, she was letting me go to the palace?

"Don't you want to?" Akuba-san had mistaken my shocked silence for reluctance.

"No, no, no! I want to! I do!"

She shook her head. "Be careful! You _must_ be careful!"

Jii-chan laughed. "Just don't get carried away. The palace… is full of treachery these days. Although, a kitchen maid wouldn't have to worry too much, I suppose."

As I went to do my chores, I was still numb with disbelief, and the thoughts occupied my mind even as I went to sleep.

---

_"Yuzu!" Mikan's face appeared in my dreams. "I found out where Hotaru is!"_

_"Hotaru? You found her?" I smiled happily. "Great! Are you going to visit her?"_

_"I'm going to follow her." Mikan said determinedly._

_"Follow…" my eyes were round. "It's dangerous!" Before I could protest any further, Mikan's image dissolved. I frowned. What?_

_Then, she started to come back. She was… in a strange room. And there was an old man, snoring. She took some paper things out of a… fake pig? Then, she ran out of the room. My vision seemed to follow her, somehow, as she ran towards some sort of shelter. Then, a giant carriage – a "train," my mind seemed to say – appeared._

_The place blurred. Now she was inside a moving room. My mind told me it was the inside of the "train."_

_It blurred again, and now she was surrounded by giant buildings that were so high they touched the clouds. I could feel her shock and wonder as she wandered around looking for some "Alice Academy," I would have been shocked, but the dream part of me kept me from it. It made me feel like it was "supposed to be."_

_Then, it started to blur again. I was waking up. No! I tried to shout, but I couldn't stop the morning. But, I was afraid. Some part of me felt that Mikan was walking straight into danger. That _I _would soon be walking straight into danger, straight into the trap._

"Yuzu." My foster-mother's face appeared above me.

"What?" I mumbled incoherently, then opened my eyes in panic. "Mikan! Don't!"

My foster-mother looked stunned for a second, then reverted to her annoyed expression. "You want a mandarin? We don't have any, you know. It's rich people's food."

"No! She… can't go to Tokyo!" My eyes were still dazed, then they cleared. "Oh…Sorry, Oka-san. I had a dream."

My foster-mother looked worried, but shrugged. "The carriage is leaving now. One of the merchants agreed to send you to the palace. Send back some letters, okay? Please!"

Jii-san yelled at me. "I didn't raise a daughter who'd go on a journey and not send letters. So, if you don't, I'll be quite mad!"

I smiled. "Yes, of course, Jii-san, Okaa-san."

And so, I got on the wagon, towards that feeling of danger.

And I hoped that I would be able to survive.

---

**Don't forget to review!!! REVIEW~!!!! REVIEW OR ELSE!!! IF YOU DON'T REVIEW... I'll make you eat Natsume's fireballs for breakfast! (Or dinner or lunch or even, what the heck, brunch or something!)**


	2. A Dare

**Sorry, but this fanfic might go a little slowly. ^^ I didn't wait until I'd written a lot of chapters before I uploaded it, like my Shugo Chara fanfic, so it might go a little more slowly... ^^ Sorry. Okay. I know that, so far, this plot has almost nothing to do with Gakuen Alice, but just wait. It'll all come... later! *sigh***

**The chapters are longer in this fanfic, too... hope you don't mind! ^^ Please please pretty please review!!!**

The wagon kept going. By this time, my stomach felt horrible. It was partly the danger that I felt with such intensity at the castle, the murderous, treacherous aura.

Mostly, though, I was just sick. Motion sick. It was, after all, my first time riding on a wagon…

The carriage lurched, and I gasped as my stomach lurched with it.

"Oww…" I moaned. The merchant chuckled.

"First time riding a carriage? Well, it's like riding a ship, makes you sicker than a hippopotamus."

"Yes…" I said, a bit faintly. "What's a hippopotamus?"

"Well, it's a big gray thing, it lives in the rivers." The merchant told me, with an air of importance. "It's quite interesting, actually. Did you know, they…"

Listening to his lectures calmed my stomach down a bit. He told me a lot, about places like Egypt and Africa and China. They seemed so strange and faraway.

"And, there's this place called Japan, too." he laughed. "They have the prettiest cherry blossoms that you'd ever have seen! And, they have this nice little city, Tokyo, too. I swear, though, soon it'll be as big as anything, even though it started—"

"Tokyo?!" I asked excitedly. "Does it have huge buildings as tall as the sky and moving carriages?"

The merchant looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course not. 'Tis like… Oh, I can't really say… like here, I suppose, only the houses are different. And it doesn't have a king, but an emperor. Japan, I mean."

"Oh." My disappointment crept into my voice. Then, another thought perked me up. "But, how do you know all this? Do merchants know these kinds of things?"

The merchant shrugged mysteriously and left it at that. "We're here."

I gasped with delight. The palace was big, and there were these beautiful little marble statues on it – gargoyles, I supposed, from the merchant's ramblings. And, just like he had promised, there was a beautiful dome on the highest point, covered with gold, and Our Lady's statue stood on it, magnificent.

As I arrived at the strange place, I noticed a boy standing in the doorway. He looked rather out of place, with his coal-black hair and his air of arrogance.

The merchant raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be in the palace."

The boy just glared at him. "Say one word and I'll have you hanged."

The merchant shrugged. "You know you can't do that. At any rate, I'm seeing this girl off for now." He looked at me, then laughed. "You're feeling sick again?"

I nodded. "Stupid horses…" I moaned.

The boy looked coldly at me. "Are you pregnant or something?"

There was a silence. The merchant shook his head, and recovered first. "You know you really shouldn't say such things."

Obviously, though, that stupid arrogant kid didn't care. " 's her fault she came here in the first place."

I would have retorted, but I was feeling too sick to muster any good insults, so I just waited.

That brat went away.

---

"Yuzu-chan, I'd like to introduce you to the kitchen staff… uh, servants." The head cook smiled in a motherly way.

I was excited. I'd have new friends! I'd never had any friends before, except for Mikan, of course… and… "Who are they?" I asked.

"These are… Yuri… Sakura… Nina…"

I tried to remember the names, then gave up, and concentrated on their faces. When I saw the last person, I gasped. "… Midori?!" I cried.

Midori blinked. "Yuzu? Is that you?"

I laughed happily. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

Midori shrugged. "We had to move after the tax collectors took away our home. So, we found this abandoned hovel near the beach and fixed it up. And, since we needed a money, I started to work here. I was lucky to get a job, really. So many people want to work at the castle."

"Well… I can see you two are acquainted…" the cook remarked dryly. "Midori, see if you can help Yuzu around the castle. Just to make sure… you know…"

Midori nodded.

The cook hesitated, than shrugged. "Well, it couldn't possibly hurt. Yuzu, go deliver this to the nobles in the courtyard. They're having a… picnic." The cook snorted, as if something amused her. "Like a picnic with a glass table and a roof and food brought to you actually counts as a picnic."

"You have to be careful." Midori warned me. "They're all nobles. Cook doesn't like them, because they are a bit… brainless. You'll see what I mean. Just, whatever you do, _don't insult anyone!_"

I nodded. "No problem. I'm pretty easygoing."

Midori looked skeptical, but shrugged and started walking, so I followed her.

The castle was marvelous! The walls were all flawless and made of marble, with intricate pictures carved into them. I wanted to touch them, but I was holding two trays of food as it was, so I couldn't. The table the nobles were at were in the middle of a beautiful rose garden. The pretty flowers came in all different colors, from red to yellow to pure, dazzling white, and beautiful purples and blues.

I was too busy looking at the scenery to notice the occupants of the table, but I wrinkled my nose when I saw who one of them was."

I set the trays down on the table none too gently, an irritated expression on my face. "You're that pervert!" I exclaimed, my teeth gritted.

The black-haired boy looked bored, and turned a page of his book. "A pervert is someone who has weird interests. I was just asking an honest question."

"Honest? _Honest?!_ Are you crazy? How can you ask a girl something so… so… so _indecent!_"

Midori had a pained expression on her face. "I told her…" she muttered.

"Hey, _brat_. That's _his Highness_ you're talking to!" One of the boys snapped. "You'd better apologize to Natsu-sama!"

"_Apologize!?_ For _what?!_" I shouted.

Midori looked around nervously. She put a hand on my shoulder. "Umm… Yuzu-chan… you _ should_ probably apologize. C'mon. You shouldn't have shouted at His Highness, right?" She forced a smile. "My friend gives her apologies… we beg your pardon, Your Highness."

I stuck my tongue out at her, but when Midori was retreating, it was probably better to follow suit.

"I'm sorry." I snapped, then stomped away.

"Wait." The perverted idiot – the _prince_ – and what a joke of a prince _he_ was – looked up from the book. "You know you could be arrested for treason, right?"

"Treason?" Midori blanched. "B-but…" she bowed nervously. "I'm sorry, but… she's not used to the palace, she meant no harm, really. Surely, you can give us another chance, your Highness! Please."

I brushed her aside. "That wasn't treason, and you know it. Treason is the act of trying to betray one's country. It only includes things like harboring one's enemy, attempting to overthrow one's sovereign, trying…" I rattled on and on, proud of the things I had learned from the merchant on my five-day trip here from my hometown, though I was still a bit suspicious as to how in the world he knew about all these exotic places and all this law stuff. "Even if you arrest me, you can't kill me. Worst you can do is imprison me for two months."

Natsu-_sama_ shrugged. "No, we could do worse." He said monotonously. "There doesn't need to be evidence. We can bribe or blackmail the court. We can fabricate evidence. There's lots of things we could do."

I narrowed me eyes. "Then everything that his Majesty and Jii-chan told us is a lie!" I snapped. "I don't believe that! His Majesty is magnanimous, one of the greatest kings ever! Jii-chan told me that, and I don't believe that he's a corrupt person like you are!"

Natsu just shrugged again. "I'm just telling you what I _could_ do. So, if you don't want that to happen, then I want you to go to the Northern Woods and get… a little _something_ for me." He looked at a blond boy next to him, who gave him a worried look.

"Fine!" I accepted the challenge – if it was even a challenge – and laughed triumphantly. "Then if I get it, you have to apologize for saying _that!_"

"That you were pregnant?" He asked in a bored tone.

"H-hey!!" I blushed. "Yeah, that!"

"Sure, whatever." He shrugged.

My fleeting feeling triumph ended as I looked at the dense and dangerous woods outside the castle.

**Is it feeling familiar yet? *cackle* Okay. Well, anyways, that's not the point here. I'm sorry, I really couldn't fit the rest of this chapter in without making it too long, so I made it into two chapters... Anyways, though, the next chapter should explain a bit more about this weirdness... not much though... ^^**

**By my estimation (which may be wayyy off) the more... exclusive... secrets may not even get _hinted_ at until... about chapter 6 or 7, I think... (Don't trust it. It may be wrong.) But, until then, enjoy! AND REVIEW!!! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! That's right! Click that little button with the magic word RIGHT now and tell you what you thought about this story! **


	3. The Premonition

**Okay, I don't own Gakuen Alice. ^^ Anyways... Well, the next part should be... kind of familiar... ^^ Don't forget to review!**

"_Mikan?" I tried to say. But, I couldn't._

_This time, I saw her standing outside a huge fence. There seemed to be a magnificent structure complex inside, but I couldn't quite make it all out. Mikan was staring from outside. Some strange men appeared, and started to talk to her._

_"They're lying!" I wanted to shout, but I couldn't._

_I was so relieved when some blond guy who looked like a girl came over and… persuaded them to leave. He really was weird, but… If Mikan was safe, at least… However, as if to spoil my relief, another strange person – boy in a cat mask – appeared. I shivered. Why did he seem familiar?_

_I winced as the blond guy – Narumi – "settled" things. I followed them in my ethereal form into the big place, happy that Mikan, at least, had managed to enter the school. Her fears, and mine, too, about the odd school were settled when a black-haired teacher came and talked to her. She was looking at pictures of her best friend on the couch when the ugly black-haired boy woke up._

_I really just couldn't look at him. I don't know why, but his face just repelled me. And, his personality seemed to be just as ugly, because he did take advantage of the fact that Mikan was distracted. I winced again. Stupid kid. Who did he think he was?_

_Some other kid – who, again, triggered some familiar memory I couldn't really place – came in and took the black-haired kid away. Then, as I watched, the scene blurred._

_Now she was in a classroom. It was chaotic, unlike the classrooms I had seen that were for the rich kids in the town. There were people flying and making odd things. I would have been shocked, but like with the odd carriage and the high buildings, some part of me kept that shock from surfacing. Obviously, the kids didn't like her, and just because she had yelled at that stupid ugly brat – and, quite within her rights, too, for what he did._

_Then, I shivered, because as the scene focused on the black-haired brat, I knew why I didn't like his face, why I had tried to not see it._

_It looked _exactly _like the face of Natsu. Even their names were similar. Hyuuga Natsume, an exact, albeit younger, replica of Natsu, oldest son of His Majesty of Our Graced Country, Arisia._

I woke up in a cold sweat. Stupid stupid prince – He had probably summoned some weird sorcerer people to make me dream such a creepy thing. What a cowardly thing to do, especially since it was _him_ who'd told me to get some random book something-or-other anyways. I finally managed to get myself to calm down by heaping all the blame on the stupid prince – although, of course, it wasn't his fault… not completely, at least.

Rubbing my eyes, I yawned. I would never get used to sleeping on such an elegant bed instead of a rug on the floor. Well, it wasn't really _elegant_, but to me, it was the softest thing I'd ever felt.

The stupid prince's smirk popped up in my head. Well, I _was_ a commoner. Excuse me, Mr. All-That-Arrogance-And-Obsession-With-Being-Royalty…

I ground my teeth in frustration and stomped out of the servants' quarters. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid… Agh! He completely _ruined_ my beautiful refreshed mood!

Angrily, I managed to find one sturdy outfit that didn't look like it would tear easily. Then, I packed all the necessities in my bag, and stomped out to meet the idiot.

"You're late." he snapped rudely.

"Am not!" I snapped back. "You said ten o'clock in the morning, and here I am!"

"If I say ten," he said irritably, "the you're supposed to arrive at nine fifty!"

"WHAT is the POINT in that?" I yelled back. "If you want nine fifty, then _say_ nine fifty, for crying out loud! Honestly!"

"Whatever! Just go!" he said stiffly.

"Fine!" I huffed and left.

I stomped my way through about a quarter mile of forest before I realized there was someone behind me. I whirled around in astonishment. "Midori? You came?"

She nodded. "I can't let you go all by yourself; it's dangerous here. And, I brought someone who can help, too." She gestured to a girl with brown braids.

"I-I'm Sakura." she stammered. I vaguely recalled Cook pointing to someone with that name.

"O…kay?" I blinked. "So, now, we're much safer?" I asked skeptically.

Midori huffed impatiently. "Listen. Sakura's not just any cook. She used to be the servant of the king's chief librarian. And, she's learned a few things, too."

Sakura looked nervous. "You see, there's something that the nobles don't want to tell us."

I snorted. "Nobles and their secrets."

Midori gave me her "look," so I shut up and listened. Sakura continued anxiously. "The nobles have something called an 'Alice.' " I snorted. Sounded like a girl's name, to be honest. "It's some sort of special power." _Now_ I was paying attention. "It's inherited through the bloodline, so almost all the nobles have one… each Alice is different, though. More importantly, though, many things at court have been influenced by Alices… including the woods."

I sighed. Bloodline… there'd be no way I could have one… "So… what have these woods got to do with anything?"

"The woods." Sakura continued slightly more confidently now. "They're covered by an illusion. These are not really so big, or dangerous. In fact, it's almost exactly the shape of a circle, with a radius of one mile."

Midori blinked. "What's a … radius?"

"_One mile?_" I demanded at the same time. "Are you sure? Only one?"

Sakura nodded. "And, according to one of the books, there's a treasure at the very center. It must be what his Highness wants you to get for him."

I thought about it. It made sense… but if it really was so easy, why not get it himself? So, the only reason for that would be that it _was_ dangerous… it would take much longer than a simple half an hour just to walk a mile… which meant, the forest would be riddled with traps.

"Okay." I decided. "We'll have to be careful… it may take quite a while to do this, since…" I hesitated, wondering if they wanted to stay or not. "But… are you sure— "

"Yes, I'm sure." Midori said firmly. "You're going to need help."

She would have said more, I think, but we were interrupted by a sudden change in time. It was… sunset?

**Sorry... not too interesting... still. ^^ HAHA!!! THE INSANE WEIRDO (who really ticks me off) APPEARS NEXT CHAPTER!!!**

**Oh yeah, disregard my prediction. It's not gonna be chapter 5... definitely. Probably, like, ten or something. I dunno... around chapter 40 in the manga, at least. You know, when they go looking for the antidote. That's more or less when this fanfic will start to diverge... ^^ Heee!!!**

**REVIEW!!! Don't forget to press that button!!!**


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